5 Risks of In-House Shredding and How to Avoid Them

Most companies understand the importance of shredding unwanted documents, but few do it the right way. Organizations spend thousands of dollars on store-bought shredders and use valuable employee time to destroy documents. In this blog, we discuss the risks of in-house shredding and how to avoid them.

1. Identity Theft and Business Fraud

Document shredding is one of the most effective ways to reduce identity theft and business fraud. But store-bought office shredders don’t match the security of industrial-grade shredding equipment. Plus, in-house shredding often results in shredded documents being discarded in a dumpster where they can be stolen and reconstructed. A mobile, on-site shredding truck with industrial-grade shredders destroys documents beyond recognition. A secure chain of custody eliminates the possibility of someone stealing your discarded shredded material.

2. Lost Productivity

In-house shredding programs rely on employees to shred unwanted documents. This means less time for revenue-producing activities. Outsourcing your shredding to a qualified provider saves time and keeps your staff efficient.

3. Potential Regulatory Fines

Several privacy laws, including HIPAA, FACTA, and GLBA, require destruction of personally identifiable (PII) and protected health information (PHI). Businesses and organizations that fail to provide final disposition proof for paper records face stiff fines and penalties. A shredding service helps your business comply with privacy regulations.

4. No Proof of Destruction

It’s impossible to verify when a document has been destroyed with an in-house shredding program. Professional shredding offers documented proof of the destruction process. Your paper records are destroyed on-site at your business and you receive a Certificate of Destruction.

5. Risks to Employee Safety

In-house shredding poses safety risks to your employees. Office shredders produce dust particles that lower the air quality in your office. Un-shredded paper clutter creates fire hazard risks. And it’s not unknown for an employee’s loose clothing, jewelry, or long hair to get pulled into the shredder teeth, causing injury. A scheduled shredding service keeps your employees safe by ensuring documents are regularly shredded and eliminating dust-producing office shredders.

You can avoid all the risks of in-house shredding by replacing your existing program with a locally-based, professional document destruction service.

The Shred Truck™ provides NAID AAA Certified mobile, on-site paper shredding and hard drive destruction services in and around St. Louis, Missouri. For more information, please call us at 314-729-9200 or complete the form on this page.